Illuminated top



Jul 29, 1924. 1,503,006

. P. J. RAUSE ILLUMINATED T0 P Filed Nov. 21, 1923 Patented July 29, 1924.

' PAUL J. musn, or sooner omen, rzrnw JERSEY.

ILLUMINATED TOP.

Application filed November 21, 1928. Serial No. 875,980.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL citizen of the United States, and a resident of South Orange, county of Essex, and

State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Illuminated Tops, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved top which has an electric illuminating device on the inside and which device is lighted while the top rests on its peg but which is out wliien the top stops spinning and rests on its s1 e.

The invention resides in such top as described which has means for holding a battery sothat the battery is readily removable when exhausted and, further, in certain details of construction which will be more fully described hereinafter.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a top view of a top made according to my invention. Figure 2 is a vertical section thereof and Figure 3 is a detail, section of the peg when in non-supporting position.

The top comprises a casing usually made of sheet metal and because of the necessity of renewing the battery and the lamp, it is made of separable parts. I show'an upper member 10 and lower member 11 secured together by bayonet slots 12 which are engaged by the pins 13.

The top has a stem 14 for winding either by a cord or the usual windin spool (not shown) which engages the note es 15 in the casing and when released imparts'a quick rotary motion to the top casing.

In the casing is a holder for holding a dry battery 16 of the usual flashlight type and I show a sleeve 17 secured tothe bottom of the casing and having a slot 17 to 've the sleeve the necessary resiliency an ermit the assage of the terminal 18 of the battery. uitably disposed alongside thb sleeve is the socket 19 for the lamp 20 which lamp when in place is grounded to the casing by the lip 21. The socket is insulated from this ground by a strip of insulating material 22, but has a lip 23 in the path of the terminal 18 so that they can be m .contact. The other terminal 24 of the battery is above the peg 25 slidable in the bottom J. RAUsE, a p

of the top and in contact with the casing or ground so that when the top rests on the peg the casing slides down on it until the peg is stopped by the terminal 24 of the battery which completes the circuit and the lamp is lighted.v .The peg thus forms a make-and-break device in the clrcuit. When the weight of the top is removed from the peg, a yielding means such as the spring 26 pushes the peg out until it is stopped by the collar 27 or its equivalent. To cushion the contact of the peg and battery, I prefer to install a spring 28 which when out of contact extends slightly beyond the inner end of the-peg, as in Figure 3.

The illumination by the lamp 20 can be utilized in a number of ways but I prefer 7 to place a piece 29 of celluloid or other transparent material in-the opening 30 at the top face of the casing and when rovided with bands of coloring gives the e set,

when rotating, of circular bands or concentric rings of color. The piece 29 can be changed readily as it is only held at its edge by the clips or flanges 31 under which it 1s snapped.

The casing is constructed so that when the top rolls on its side when the spinning stops the peg is relieved of the weigiht and the spring 26 pushes the peg outwar ly and circuit is broken. The-dotted position in Figure 2 shows that the form illustrated is of a type to cause the pe to be lifted clear ofd the surface 32when t e top lies on its s1 e.

It will be evident that minorchanges can be made in the toy without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A top having an illuminating means therein and means comprising a lamp, a

battery and a circuit, and a make and break circuit including a make and break device operated to complete the circuit when the hattery in Q weight of the top rests on the pe 3. A top comprising a casing a the casing", a lamp, a circuit from the battery A top having an illuminating devi to the lamp, said circuit including the peg of the top, a spring to yieldingly hold the peg so that the circuit is broken, said spring being overcome when the top rests on its eg. P 4. A top comprising a casing, a holder for a dry battery in said casing, a slidable peg in the top, the battery being dis osed so that one of its terminals is engage by the peg when the peg is slid in, a lamp in the top, a circuit connecting the lamp and the battery said circuit including the peg, and a spring to yieldingly hold the peg in its outer position.

5. A top comprising a casing, an illuminating device in the casing and comprising a battery anda lamp and a circuit connecting them, and make and break devicedisposed so that the circuit is broken when the top rests on its side and is completed when the trip rests on its peg.

6. top comprising a casing, a centrally arranged sleeve in the centre thereof, a lamp, a connection from the lamp and disposed so as to engage a terminal of a battery placed in the sleeve, a peg slidable in the casing and to engage the other terminal of the battery,

and a spring to push the peg outward to break the circuit.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereto set my hand, this 20th day of November, 1923.

PAUL J. RAUSE. 

